Christmas Mission
by petalled
Summary: Who knew Christmas missions could be so fulfilling? Duo/Hilde one-shot. 1st Place in Preventer Organization's 2006 X-mas Fan Fiction contest.


**Christmas Mission**

**By mistress amethyst une**

They never even considered the possibility of spending Christmas the way they did. Huddled around a fire not because of the chill of the frost but because of the desert's night air, they decided to shake things up with a bit of conversation.

"I told you not to make her angry," said Hilde as her teeth chattered ever so slightly.

She thought back to the moment her boyfriend had screwed everything up...

"_Someone has to pick up the main witness for a high-profile political trial," said Une, "The agents will be transported to a secluded location in order to claim the aforementioned." _

"_Oh come on," jeered Duo, "Nobody's stupid enough to volunteer for a mission like that with the holidays coming up!"_

_Une glared, "Apparently, you and your partner are."_

"I didn't think she'd do this," replied Duo apologetically.

The two of them had been loaded into a plane earlier that evening. They'd parachuted down into a patch of a desert that was identical to every bit of the sandy expanse that surrounded it. No, they didn't know if they were in the Sahara, Gobi, Mojave or God-knew-where desert. Une had said that part of the confidentiality agreement was the fact even the agents were barred from knowing the witness' location or where exactly the pick-up point they were stationed in was.

"Maybe she was lying," groaned Hilde, "Maybe she did this to get rid of us for good!"

"Look, the witness will be here at midnight. Don't be paranoid."

"The world's gone mad. Now, you're making sense and I'm losing my wits."

She shed her boots and attempted to shake the sand out of them. The grains had been agitating the gaps between her toes for hours. He followed her lead and took his off as well. There they sat, barefoot and sitting cross-legged waiting for something that might never come. She was still shivering from the chill of the air. He took off his own uniform jacket and nudged closer to her. Together, they shared body heat and the comfort the jacket offered.

"It's funny, isn't it?" he said, "Being in the desert on Christmas. Some people's first impression of the holiday is snow."

"It shouldn't be though," she replied as she snuggled up to him and placed her head beneath his neck, "Remember the Nativity? They had to go through a desert to get to that stable before Christmas could ever happen."

"I guess so."

He gazed up at the night sky. Billions of stars twinkled down and the full moon was particularly bright. The horizon was dark and seemed to meld with the sky. He was guessing that their camp fire was the only pinprick of light in the whole ocean of sand. It paled in comparison to the brightness of the heavens.

"Why so quiet?" she asked him.

"Uh, I'm just tired I guess. We've been here since the sun set."

She smiled, "The sand was still warm then."

She grasped a few grains with her fingers. They had cooled tremendously since then…

She recalled the epic beauty of the sun diving down into the sandy seas. The sky had been painted several hues before darkness began to engulf the desert. This was when they had decided to start their fire. They had packed several bundles of kindling, a little lighter fluid and some matches. With that, they were able to create their source of warmth and light. Still, the warmth the fire provided was sorely lacking. But honestly, who cared? It gave her every excuse to huddle with Duo.

Duo, on the other hand, was feeling strange. He had one of his hands firmly entrenched in his left pocket. His other arm was wrapped around Hilde as they shared his jacket while his other hand rested firmly on her shoulder. Two things were causing him trepidation. It was funny to think that both sources of uneasiness lay in the palms of his hands.

One remark had ruined it. Why did he have to provoke Une? True, he enjoyed the sport. Annoying the former enemy was exhilarating and fun. But had it been worth it? His plans were ruined now.

He had pictured it in his mind so many times. Getting down on one knee at that grandiose Christmas ball Relena had been so bent on hosting. He would have called everyone's attention as he knelt down before Hilde. He would then have taken the ring from his pocket and asked her to marry him. Yes, that was how he'd seen it…

"Duo," she said as she let her head fall on his shoulder, "I'm not used to you being so quiet. Is something wrong?"

"I told you," he replied vaguely, "I'm just tired."

She sighed, "If it's about not being able to take me to that ball tonight, I want you to know that I'm ok with it. A military uniform suits me better than some fancy dress anyway."

He knew she was lying to make him feel better. She had been excited about attending that ball for weeks.

"_We've never been invited to anything like this before!" she tittered excitedly upon receiving the invite, "I wonder what it's going to be like?"_

Like him, Hilde hadn't exactly grown up pampered. For her, attending a ball would have been a chance at a great new experience. A chance he had thoroughly ruined by infuriating his fire breathing boss…

He clutched at the ring in his pocket. How was he supposed to propose now?

"I ruined everything," he said, "I'm sorry, Hilde."

She just smiled at him, "It's Christmas so there's no reason for you to be so glum. You really should cheer up."

Suddenly her face lit up, "I know something that'll make you feel better."

She left his embrace and went over to her backpack to retrieve something. A gift? It was a tiny box that had been badly wrapped. The bow was tied in an odd-fashion, like a shoelace.

"You wrapped it yourself, didn't you?" he said as a mild jab at her wrapping skills.

She ignored his comment although her annoyance was visible when her lip gave an involuntary twitch. She always seemed to smirk whenever he caused her grievance. It was one of the things that endeared her to him.

"Come on! Just open it!" she stressed as she handed it to him.

Her smirk had evolved and she was positively beaming now. Her joy was obvious as she watched him tear reluctantly at the glossy green and red paper. Opening the box beneath the wrapping, he was thoroughly bewildered by its contents.

"A key?" he said in a confused tone.

"For a new car," she remarked proudly, "I saved up for months. We're sharing it, by the way. It's a present for the two of us. We'll claim it at the dealership together after this mission. It's blue!"

His mouth was agape as she huddled up against him again.

"But how?" he asked in disbelief.

"I told you. Savings. I also had a little help from my parents. I might not be high-class but my parents do have money."

"Your parents?"

"Well, yeah. Haven't I ever mentioned them to you? They live in this tiny village near Berlin. They have a small coffee shop there."

"You never-"

"Must've slipped my mind…"

"For three years!"

"They were bent on stopping me from joining OZ! I ran away from them."

"And?"

"They eventually forgave me. Constantly tried to send me money every month to win me back… At first I refused since I was still eager to rebel. I eventually caved in though. Our measly salaries weren't enough to keep food on the table so I accepted their help. They gave me something extra for Christmas."

"So you bought me a car?"

"I bought **us **a car."

"Hilde, this is far too generous," he said as he dangled the key in the firelight, "I haven't done anything for you except mooch."

"Don't be silly. You make me smile. You give me a reason to wake up every morning. That's worth more than all the money in the world to me."

"Well, then. I guess I should give you my gift. Although the way I imagined presenting it to you was way different."

"Now really?" she giggled, "Did you get me lingerie again?"

"Not this year," he said as he dug into his pocket to reveal his present.

"A ring? What would I do with a-"

She suddenly turned serious, "Duo, you mean-"

He nodded, "I was going to propose at the ball but now would be as good a time as any. Hilde, you've done so much for me over these past few years. You even risked your life to help me. You love me even when I can hardly see anything worth loving in my self. You put up with me and never complain."

He sighed slightly and let her see all the hope and good intentions reflected in his gaze.

"Even if you're horribly kind, you're not afraid to tell me off when I'm being an idiot. I need a woman like you in my life. Someone who makes me feel whole," he added with a smile, "I guess, what I'm trying to say is, will you marry me?"

She burst into tears and nodded as he slipped the ring on her finger, "I think this Christmas is way better than last year's."

He smiled, "I liked last year's. You gave me the best present."

She put on a mock frown, "Virginity wasn't exactly my intended gift. Now I have nothing to give you on our wedding night."

"You can still give it to me like a virgin. Maybe better," he said impishly, "You can give it to me over and over again. You can give it to me right now."

She was no stranger to innuendo and returned his smoldering gaze. He leaned in for a kiss but a mild crackling noise interrupted their attempt at being sexually promiscuous.

"The transistor radio," said Hilde, "They're sending a message!"

Duo immediately rushed to get his backpack in order to unearth the radio. They adjusted the frequency and heard a faint message. It wasn't clear and parts off it were cut off by static but the voice was obviously Une's.

_"…felt sorry for you two. Miss Relena… …nagging me. You're not… ...at ball. A lot of… …angry at me! Can you believe… …sent chopper_. _Rerouted witness… …be there in ten minutes. Mission cancelled."_

Duo and Hilde looked confused.

"Did you understand that?" she asked.

"Sounds like a lot of people got mad at Une when we didn't show up," he sneered.

"She said something about a chopper coming to pick us up in ten minutes."

"She also said the mission was cancelled."

"Well, that's good news, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

"What will we do when we get back?"

He smiled, "It's too late to attend the ball but I'd like to talk about these parents of yours. We'll have to arrange a trip to go see them."

She groaned, "Why?"

"What's the matter? Too embarrassed to introduce me to your folks?"

"No. It's just the fact that they're ancient and conservative and you're-"

"Young and daring?"

"Well, yeah."

"I suppose they won't want me touching their daughter until the honeymoon."

She gave a light chortle, "They're a little too late if they intend to keep your hands off of me. About a year late…"

He gave her a roguish grin, "I suppose they are."

He proceeded to kiss her senseless until the chopper came. Une literally had to pull them apart. As they boarded the chopper, the delirious grins on their faces were noticeable. Who knew Christmas missions could be so fulfilling?

**OOO**

Ok, I finished! This is my entry for the December fan fiction contest in my guild on Gaia Online. Not exactly sure if I've penned something good since this was finished at 2:27 a.m. and this is only my second try at writing a purely Duo/Hilde fic. Please read and review! Wish me luck!


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